


The Danger of Candy Canes

by Espresso-Patronum (BucketRogers)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Implied D/s, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Minor Angst, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, also sorta cracky??, this fic is weird, tony has a drinking problem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-28 02:09:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17173844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BucketRogers/pseuds/Espresso-Patronum
Summary: Steve goes to bail out Tony after an incident with Clint. He isn't particularly happy





	The Danger of Candy Canes

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know what this fic is or how it happened, but here you go!
> 
> I think some warnings are in order? It starts ridiculous, but Steve gets flashbacks of his father, but it's not particularly explicit.
> 
> Thanks to the Stony discord people for helping me out with this insanity

Steve frowned down at the ringing phone. An unknown number this late at night never meant anything good. He hesitated, almost considering having Jarvis do a check on the number, but eventually decided to just answer it. 

“Hello?” he asked, careful not to give anything away even as he itched to grab his shield.

“Steve!” Tony’s voice blared through the speaker, ridiculously loud. “Stevie, baby, hey, you know I love you, right? Like, so, so much love, you’re amazing!”

Steve frowned even more. Tony was lovey, but he never actually said it out loud. His love was telegraphed in the things he did, even in the simple things he said. The last time he had heard Tony actually say those words was during a fight in the midst of a crap ton of apologies.

They hadn’t fought recently, though. Things were actually better than they had ever been. So, Tony couldn’t be upset and trying to fix things, but Steve couldn’t come up with another reason for Tony talking like this. Unless…

“Tony, honey, are you drunk?”

“No!” He shouted it out too loudly, and then quietly continued, “yes, maybe. Okay, definitely.” The pout was obvious as he talked, and Steve sighed.

Tony hadn’t gotten drunk in so long. He had been doing well, only having wine with dinner occasionally, and always with Steve’s supervision. The idea that something could have happened, that he might have drunk too much and gotten hurt. It scared Steve, but he took a breath and tried to keep his cool.

“You need me to come pick you, dear? Promise me you won’t drive, all right? Just let me know where you are and I’ll come get you as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, uh, please? I’m at the 10th precinct on West 20th. Don’t worry, I’m with Clint.” Steve could hear the note of worry in Tony’s voice, and that only set him off more. He still stayed calm, trying his best not to snap.

“Oh god, what did he do? Okay, don’t worry, I’ll be there in 5 minutes. Stay with Clint, keep him from doing anything else stupid.” When he didn’t get a response right away, he frowned. “Tony?”

“Yeah, course, babe. I’ll stay with Clint.” Something was off. Before he could freak out too much, Steve jumped up and started making his way there.

When he got to the precinct, to his surprise, Clint was sitting in the waiting room, looking bored and also holding a gauze pad to his side.

“Clint? What the hell, are you okay? Where’s Tony? I told him to stay with you, oh god, did he wander off?” Steve was starting to ramble, and Clint had to reach up and rest a hand on his arm to get him to calm down.

“Relax, Steve. Tony is in one of the holding cells, we’ve just been waiting for you to get here cause we’re both tipsy. Him, a bit more so.” Clint sighed and increased the pressure, wincing.

Steve frowned, deep lines etching into his face, then stormed back towards the cells before anyone could stop him. Sure enough, Tony was sitting on the ground, giggling and playing with the strings of his hoodie, obviously far beyond tipsy. When he looked up and saw Steve, though, he seemed to sober up a little bit.

“Oh, Tony. For god’s sake, what happened? Please tell me that there is a not ridiculous reason for why you’re in a holding cell.”

Tony pouted and looked away. “I got really drunk and then I tried to stab Clint with a candy cane.”

Steve was stunned into silence. Of all the things that Tony could have done, Steve never would have predicted that. He hated himself for it, but the first thing that flashed into his head was fear.

He knew Tony wasn’t a violent person, not even a violent drunk. Rationally, he knew that. But flashes of his dad - Joseph, not his dad, Joseph - leaning over him and his mom with a belt took him over and he had to bite his lip against the intense emotions swirling inside of him.

He gulped, and somehow, even in his inebriated state, Tony seemed to notice that something else was wrong, other than Steve just being upset. Completely unlike himself, Tony stood up slowly, watching Steve as if he was a deer ready to dash.

“Steve? Hey, honey, can you look at me? I can see you getting lost in your thoughts, you need to take a breath and look at me, alright?”

It took Steve a minute, but Tony’s voice was soothing enough that he started to feel like he could breathe again. He stepped closer, reaching out for Tony, his lifeline. Tony grabbed his hand through the bars and squeezed gently.

“I’m sorry, Steve, I messed up. Let’s just get home, then we can talk about this?”

That was enough to spur Steve back into action. He hurried to the warden’s desk, who seemed to sense the urgency and was already getting the keys ready. Within ten minutes, Tony was bailed out and Steve was driving him and Clint home.

By the time they got back to the tower, Steve had had enough time to think that his emotions were boiling right underneath his skin. He forced himself past the crap with his father and was now intensely focused on Tony.

The man himself seemed to notice that and was uncharacteristically quiet. He followed Steve like a lost puppy, still tipsy and obviously trying not to upset Steve.

Finally, Steve was changed, had even gotten Tony changed, and they were sitting on the bed. Tony was the first to break the silence, his voice cracking as he finally spoke.

“I’m sorry. I really am. Can you talk to me though? I hate this silence…”

Steve sighed, turning to look at him. He saw the desperation and worry and, as upset as he was, he couldn’t stand seeing the look on Tony’s face.

“You scared me, Tony. You’ve been so good with the drinking, we haven’t had an incident in months. And now you go and try to stab one of your friends while wasted? This is insane and terrifying. I’m worried about you.” Immediately, he could see the panic, so he reached out and grabbed Tony’s hands. Whenever anything like this happened, if Steve was upset but not angry, Tony would start thinking way too much about so many bad things, and they both typically felt worse when that happened.

“Hey, Tony, no, don’t do this. I see you spiraling, please, don’t. I’m not mad, you don’t have to be worried. I just want to take care of you, make sure you’re okay, and you getting drunk like that again is… it’s a lot. It’s scary. And I want to help you.”

Tony sighed, releasing a breath and shifting closer. Then, he shifted completely, curling up into a ball and resting his head on Steve’s lap.

“I really am sorry, Steve. I don’t think I can say that enough. I love you and I hate scaring you. I don’t even know what happened, I was just hanging out with Clint, we were downtown. There were drinks, but I was monitored, I thought I was fine.” There was a long, tense pause, and Tony only gripped onto Steve’s leg tighter. “Maybe it was a relapse.”

“Baby, Tony, what did we say? Jumping to conclusions, it’s not good for anybody. You had an incident, things went bad. But it’s not a complete backslide, and you can still keep getting better. Don’t worry.”

After that was just more silence, but this time, even though the air was filled with tension, it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable. Steve just held Tony, petting and soothing him and trying his best to calm him. When Tony finally spoke up again, though, it took Steve completely off guard.

“I want you to punish me.” He sat up as he said it, meeting Steve’s eyes. There must have been something there, some reluctance because Tony kept talking.

“I fucked up, Steve. I know I did, and it was bad, no matter what you want to say. And I also know that you’re hurt and that this is hurting you, and that makes me feel like crap. This will help, I know it will.”

“Tony-” Steve started, but he was cut off before he could protest.

“I’m not asking for a scene, I’m not asking for something big. I just need something hard. I’m sobering up now, I am fully coherent and consenting, and I need… I need you to put me in my place. Hurt me, remind me that I belong to you and I have to make you happy.”

“What if it doesn’t help, Tony?” He barrels on before there can be another interruption. “What if this just hurts you, what if there’s a sub drop and you feel worse. You say you need this, but what if it’s just too much?”

Tony just smiled softly, actually reaching out and cupping Steve’s face. “It won’t be. We’ve done this before, just not as a punishment for real life stuff. I know how I feel and I know how this will make me feel. Please, Captain. I need this.” Tony looked up at him with those doe eyes, then, the ones he knew Steve just couldn’t resist. His words were heavy with need and intent, the emphasis on  _ their _ word showing just how much he wanted this.

Steve took a breath, stabilizing himself and trying to get himself in the right mind for this. When he’s ready, when he feels like he can actually do this, he stands up abruptly. The motion made Tony jerk back, not in fear, simply in surprise. He leans back, on his knees and breathing heavily, staring up at Steve with clear lust.

“Strip, get your collar. Go down the hall and wait in front of the room. I’ll be there when I’m ready.” He got halfway to the bathroom, then stopped and threw three last words over his shoulder at Tony.

“Hurry up, pet.”


End file.
